Chapter Fourteen

Savannah was elbow-deep in paperwork as the door to the locked back room swung open. Her bear immediately raised its head and she followed its motion, sampling the air. That familiar scent wafted to her; it was full-bodied and musky. She was sure she’d encountered it sometime long before her time in Woodhaven, perhaps with the Northern Wind, but she couldn’t be entirely sure. The soft sound of two male voices met her ears, discussing something she couldn’t make out in quiet tones.

“Good morning Savannah.” She jumped at the sound of Nick’s voice s it sounded behind her. Nick wasn’t the second voice in the back? Then who…

“M-morning,” Savannah stammered, shaking off the shock and replacing it with precaution. She didn’t want to make assumptions about what was going on, but she had to admit that a secret third voice coming from a room that stayed locked was odd to say the least. But even though the alpha pack wasn’t without their secrets, they were always open with her when they needed to be. She was an outsider, after all, so it seemed justified enough.

Jo slipped into the office a moment later, going to Nick and whispering something in his ear that made him smile. They both seemed really relaxed, not how Savannah expected two people to react if they were about to reveal bad news. That’s all she needed to convince herself to calm down. She decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and let the situation unfolding before her speak for itself.

Nick made a grumpy noise in the back of his throat, and Jo grinned at him. “It’ll be fine.”

Savannah opened her mouth to ask what would be fine before a shuffling noise in the back room commanded her attention. She stared intently at the door, her mind running manically through her memories to pinpoint the pungent aroma, but nothing would take hold. She would unfortunately have to go into this revelation blind.

“Who’s tha—” Savannah began to ask in a panic, her jaw nearly hitting the floor as Dan came hobbling and bandaged through the unlocked doorway.

“Now, I know we’ve been really tight-lipped about things lately,” Nick began, his eyes becoming slightly wary as he trained them on her. “But we decided it wasn’t fair to either one of you to keep you in the dark. So this is Dan.” He looked to Dan. “Dan, this is Savannah. We hired her a while back.”

Savannah’s heart began to pound; the sound of her blood rushing in her ears like white water rapids as her eyes met Dan’s was overwhelming. The two sides of the story, the familiar smell, the way this alpha pack acted despite Lucas’s attack… it all fell into place at once. She looked over the bit of gauze on his body. Dan was never dead; he was just healing.

“Uh, nice to meet you!” Dan stammered frantically, eyes a bit wide. She could tell he was silently pleading for her to act normal. If either of them gave away that they knew each other, they were both likely to be in big trouble.

“Hello!” she replied, trying to play off some of her initial shock as confusion. “I, um…” she turned to Nick. “He’s a…” she shut her mouth immediately, not sure what all to say in front of Jo.

Tom grinned, though it seemed a bit tight-lipped. “Yep.”

“Yeah, I know all this might come as a bit of a shock to the two of you,” Nick explained. “You both came into our territory at a time when we couldn’t afford to be very liberal with our trust. As a result, we ended up keeping a few things from you. I hope you can forgive that.”

Savannah shook her head, opting for complete honesty. “I mean, it’s not like I didn’t know something was back there. I’d just never gotten around to asking.” She met Dan’s gaze again, mind still reeling about this surprise turn of events. “I’d have never guessed a whole man was back there, though.” A whole bear shifter, at that.

Dan shrugged, feigning nonchalance though she could see his gaze flit to Tom’s scrutinizing stare for a split second before speaking. “I got hit by a car, banged up pretty badly. They opted to help me out until I was well enough to hack it on my own.”

Savannah nodded her understanding, piecing together his words and adding them to the parts she already knew. No one before had told her about him getting hit. “That sounds terrible! Though I have to ask, why not just take you to a hospital?” she questioned, knowing they’d think it odd if she didn’t. She hoped desperately that Dan was quick enough on his feet to roll with the punches.

Dan looked away with a rueful smile. “Well, I wasn’t exactly being a good Samaritan when I got hit, so, uh…” he tailed off, and Savannah let it hang unfinished in the air, hoping it was a good enough answer for the alphas to accept.

She could feel them all staring at her, waiting for a response of any kind. A shiver ran involuntarily up her spine. “Well, I don’t know about you guys, but after that bit of news, I could use a cup of coffee,” she said.

Nick murmured something in Jo’s ear as Savannah moved to the coffeemaker, Jo nodding affirmatively before saying, “Make one for me, Savannah, if you don’t mind!” before trotting out of the office entrance.

As the door closed behind Jo, Savannah’s heart rate spiked. She couldn’t stop the nerves, and she knew they could hear them roiling within her as she fought and failed to calm her emotions. She couldn’t think of a worse scenario than being alone with the alphas as they tested her loyalty in the presence of a fellow Northern Wind bear. There was nothing honest about what was happening here; she was sure she would fail.

Savannah poured Jo’s coffee in silence before making her own. Hiding her face behind the steaming mug, she slowly turned back to the bears in the office. “So,” she finally breathed, eyes moving over Nick and Tom, finally settling on Dan. “Another shifter.”

“Yeah,” Dan replied, eyes moving from Savannah to Tom. “Why are we acting like it’s a secret?”

“Mine is,” Savannah said with a shrug. “She knows you’re one?”

“She hit me with a car while I was still in bear form,” Dan replied matter-of-factly. “Why not just tell her?”

Savannah averted her gaze. “It just doesn’t feel right. Human’s shouldn’t know.”

“And we respect that here,” Tom added, spearing Dan with a heavy gaze.

“Wait, she hit you with her car?” Savannah asked, Dan’s words catching up with her frazzled mind.

Dan shrugged. “I didn’t exactly give her a choice. I, uh… was doing some pretty crappy things under some pretty crappy orders.” He shot her a meaningful look. “I don’t come from a very good place. Took me getting knocked silly by a car and locked in a garage den for a month to figure that out, weird as that sounds.” Savannah couldn’t agree more. She was starting to realize it herself.

“Remember the Northern Wind pack?” Tom asked. “Dan is… was a part of it. We’re not too sure on how current that information is though—this old pack leader isn’t very forgiving—so he’s been hanging out with us while he heals.”

“Not to mention Jo felt guilty about banging him up,” Nick added with a stretch. “Even if it was to save my life.” Savannah saw Dan flinch as if Nick had punched him in the gut. Nick waved his worry away. “It’s in the past. Don’t fret.”

“Anyway, he’s here until he’s ready to move on,” Tom explained. We figured we’d waited long enough to tell you guys about each other. So here we are.”

“Move on where?” Savannah asked, genuinely perplexed. She was a newer bear in the Northern Wind, but even she knew enough to be certain that if Lucas had left Dan to die after sustaining injuries bad enough that she still wasn’t fully recovered even over a month later…

Lucas was sure Dan was going to die. He didn’t want him back. She was sure of it. So what was Dan’s game plan? And what’s more, could she do the same?

Nick shrugged. “In a perfect world? Here.”

Savannah gasped slightly. “You mean…”

“Yep. Asked him to join only yesterday.” Nick’s gaze met Dan’s. “Offer’s still on the table, by the way. But I won’t pressure you about it.”

Dan looked at Nick contemplatively. “I appreciate the opportunity,” was all he said remaining non-committal.

“Yep,” Nick replied, glancing down at Dan’s injured leg. “You’ve still got time.”

“Just don’t take too long,” Tom added with a small grin. “We don’t like you that much.” Nick chuckled and Dan even cracked a smile.

Looking at the easy repartee that the three bears shared, Savannah suddenly found it hard to breathe. “Excuse me,” she mumbled, hastily setting down her mug of cooling coffee. “I need some air.” She stumbled out into the parking lot before anyone could think to stop her.